


Just A Crush

by dry_ice_xx



Category: The Mighty Boosh (TV)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Drunken Confessions, Love Confessions, M/M, One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 09:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3763117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dry_ice_xx/pseuds/dry_ice_xx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vince is in love with Howard but doesn't know how to tell him</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A Crush

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first go at a non-smutty fic so let me know if you like it or if there is any way i can improve!
> 
> I also have an Adam Ant/ Vince Noir fic that is based off the 'Stand and Deliver' music video that i am working on so let me know if that would be something that any of you would be interested in reading.

It was like nothing Howard had ever seen before.  
His mouth fell open as he gazed with wonder at the multi-coloured mess of fabric in front of him that covered Vince’s lean form.  
‘So you like it then?’ Vince grinned and blushed. Giving Howard a twirl, his eyes sparkled.  
‘One of a kind. I had to fight off a few girls to get it but it was well worth it. It’s genius’ Vince gushed as he brought his attention back to Howard, who was still staring at Vince with his mouth open wide.  
Vince crossed his arms, and began tapping his foot, feinting annoyance with the sparkle still in his eye. Seeing this Howard quickly readjusted his face to something that resembled aloof boredom and looked away.  
‘Well someone with such a… refined taste as mine doesn’t really care for such flamboyant displays of vanity, no Sir. Me, I go from simple earthy tones that reflect my calm, wise demeanour. You know….’ Howard’s voice tapered off as he noticed the look of hurt confusion on Vince’s face.  
‘But well, um, I meant, it’s not bad it just that-‘Howard began but his explanation was cut off as Vince pushed past him to climb the stairs of the Nabootique, tears springing in his eyes. As Vince reached the flat Howard heard the loud clunking of Vince’s boots being thrown across the room and blaring, jerky, electro music began to seep down the stairs from the record player.  
Howard sighed and pushed his hair back. He’d done it again, offended Vince with some throw away comment he had made without thinking. Howard didn’t understand, there had never been this kind of tension between them before, only since they had moved into the Nabootique and started working in the shop together all day. The reasonable explanation would be that they had simply been spending too much time with each other but Howard felt like it was something deeper. He and Vince had never been as close as they were now and they got on much better than they did with any of their other friends (apart for the incidents like this one of course). A niggling though at the back of Howard’s head that had been there for the past couple of weeks came to his attention. Maybe, just maybe, Vince had becoming more sensitive to Howard’s opinion because all of a sudden Howards opinion mattered? Maybe, of course not, but maybe, Vince had a tincy, tiny, itsy, bitsy… crush, on Howard. Howard snorted and looked around nervously, as if to check that no one had caught him thinking this. It was preposterous of course, Vince was immune to such thing. He didn’t have crushes, he had one night stands and passionate long weekends spent shagging to the best of Gary Numan.  
Although Howard’s instinct told him not to, he was still curious and decided, for research purposes only, to go and check to see if Vince was ok.  
***  
Vince looked up as he heard Howard come up the stairs, he was sitting huddled on the corner of the couch, clutching Howard’s small silver flask and hiccupping in time to the music. Mascara was streaked across his cheek which were read and blotchy from crying. As Howard approached he turned his head to try to hide the mess of his face but he knew that it was too late and that Howard had already seen. ‘Get it together’ he thought angrily to himself, ‘it’s just Howard for god’s sake, your best mate’. But despite this internal pep talk, Vince began crying again, causing the alarmed looking Howard to move over to the couch and sit down next to Vince.  
‘Um, Hey Vince. I just wanted to, y’know, check how you were doing.’ Howard mumbled awkwardly over the music, too afraid to look at Vince directly. Vince scoffed,  
‘I’m crying because you didn’t like my new outfit, of course I’m not ok’ Vince moaned, burying his head in his hand and sloshing some of the mahogany liquid from the flask over himself and the couch.  
Howard grabbed Vince’s hand and eased the flask from it, an action that made Vince flinch, then placed the metal container on the coffee table. Howard took a deep breath and spoke again.  
‘Would you like to tell me what’s wrong?’ he asked hesitantly, barely audible over the beat of the track that played. This time he managed to look at Vince with a timid glance.  
To Howard’s alarm Vince rose abruptly and stormed over to the record player and pulled the needle up, stopping the music.  
‘Listen, I don’t want to talk to you about it now, I don’t want to talk about it ever’ Vince snapped at Howard.  
‘You’ll never understand because your just too full of yourself to even *hic* realize how amazing you actually are, and, and, and you’re always *hic* hurting me, I’m not made of stone you know?! You say *hic* stuff that hurts and I can’t deal with *hic* it and I really like this outfit and why won’t you *hic* ever let me touch you *hic* I’ve said too much, I just need to get out of here!’ he blubbered all in the same breath, more to himself than too Howard, drunkenly pulling his boots on.  
He straightened up and stepped over to snatch the flask off the table,  
‘Don’t wait up’ he sniffed and with that he was gone, leaving Howard to process all that had just happened.  
***  
Much later that night Howard heard the familiar clunk of Vince’s boots as he climbed the stairs, followed by a not so familiar tread of the person that followed him. By the lightness of the footfalls Howard guessed it was a girl, but you could never be sure with Vince. Sometimes he would hear the feminine moans of what he assumed to be Vince’s female partner only to share breakfast with a tall, slim man with a beard.  
Howard tried to block his ears with his pillow as he heard the couple move into Vince’s room, drunkenly fumbling and giggling. He heard the creak of the bed springs as the pair fell onto the mattress and hurried to block his ears for what he knew was to come, but to Howards surprise he heard a sniffing noise.  
‘What the fuck- are you crying?’ a deep, harsh voice asked  
‘Fuck off’ came the small muffled voice of Vince  
‘What?’  
‘You heard what I said! Fuck off, just FUCK OFF’  
Howard sat bolt upright at this and heard the stranger leaving down the stairs, swearing and slamming the door as they left. Unsure of how to react, Howard went to sleep.  
***  
Howard rose early the next morning, as he usually did. He was not surprised to see that Vince wasn’t up yet, it wasn’t unusual of him to sleep in until one o’clock but when Howard arrived home from Jazzersise at six he realized that Vince still hadn’t risen. This worried Howard but he decided that Vince had simply had too much to drink last night, and needed to sleep it off. Not entirely convinced by this explanation, he began to make dinner for Vince and himself, heating beans over the stove and toasting some bread.  
When it was seven o’clock and Vince still wasn’t up, Howard decided something needed to be done. He cautiously tip toed down the hallway to Vince’s door and knocked on it lightly,  
‘Vince? It’s Howard. Can I come in?’ and after hearing no reply he continued  
‘I made dinner if you want it.’ Still there was silence.  
Howard cleared his throat and then pushed the door open. The scene that greeted him was one that made his heart sink. The floor was strewn with the majority of Vince’s wardrobe which looked as if it had been hacked at with a particularly blunt pair of scissors and brown paint had been splashed over the lot, the tubes laying empty around the room. The bed was covered in mini bottles of spirits, the kind you get from hotels, the majority of which were empty and left a sharp smell in the air. Howard had a hard time locating Vince in all this mess and for a moment thought he wasn’t there at all until he saw him huddled in the corner wearing his old painting overalls, splattered with earthy tones of paint. His hair was flat and oily and his makeup had been washed away by what Howard assumed to be Vince’s tears. Howard didn’t know how to react.  
‘Well, go on, say something’ Vince whispered in a gravelly voice,  
‘Make some nasty remark about me, tell me I’m not as good as you’ he looked at Howard expectantly with watery eyes. Howard gulped  
‘Well actually I just wanted to see how you were doing’ he moved into the room and pushed some of the small bottles over to make a space for him to sit on the bed  
‘It’s just well, I heard what happened last night, y’know, with the guy you had over-‘  
‘What guy?’ Vince interrupted  
‘Oh you must mean Electro’ he sighed, blushing and looking away as he realized what Howard had heard.  
‘It’s just not like you Vince, you’re always one to please, so to speak. Is there anything I can do?’  
Vince opened his mouth to tell Howard to get out, but changed his mind and sighed,  
‘It’s you. Well it’s me, but it’s about you’ he looked at Howard tentatively to check his reaction and then continued  
‘You see it’s like this ‘Oward, I’m the one that’s meant to be cool and have loads of friends…’ Howard went to cut in, but Vince gave him a warning look and continued,  
‘But sometimes, I feel like I would trade it all just to find the one y’know. Or some bollocks like that. And ‘Oward, I found the one’ tears began streaming from Vince’s eyes as he choked the words out,  
‘But my one doesn’t think that I’m his one and I can’t deal with it. I can’t deal with not having you ‘Oward’. Vince rested his head on his arms, sobbing silently, his tears pattering onto the wooden floor boards.  
Howard gave himself a few seconds to compose himself and then cleared his throat  
‘Well Vince I think you’re pretty clueless.’  
Vince gasped and looked at Howard with wide hurt eyes but Howard continued.  
‘You never once asked me if I liked you back you complete burke’ he smiled putting his hand on Vince’s  
Vince’s face softened and a small smile played at the corner of his mouth,  
‘Well… do you ‘Oward?’  
‘Of course I do Vince! I mean who doesn’t! You said it yourself at my party, you’re the great confuser.’  
Howard stood up and pulled on Vince’s hand till they were standing face to face, then he pulled Vince into a tight embrace. Vince buried his head in Howard’s big strong chest, giggling to himself.  
‘I love you ‘Oward’ Vince said, his voice muffled in Howard’s coat  
Howard kissed the top of Vince’s head,  
‘I love you too little man’.


End file.
